Meth cook behind bars until Christmas

Pam has been at the Daily Mercury since March 2013 and has also worked as a journalist in Batemans Bay and Wellington both in NSW. And yes, that does make her a Blues supporter. Growing up she moved around different places including Sydney, Moree, Wollongong and lived for about two years as a high school student on a small island in Micronesia called Pohnpei. Pam loves water sports, including SCUBA diving, snorkelling and kayaking but her awful balance means she’ll never touch a surf board. Ever...

A FORMER Rockhampton man will be behind bars until Christmas after he was busted producing meth in his unit.

Tony Allen Trathen was sentenced on a string of drug charges to two years jail, to be released on parole in six months.

Brisbane District Court heard a woman and Trathen, 37, who was born in Rockhampton and worked as a butcher in the city for 12 years, were caught in a Brisbane unit with equipment and chemicals used to create meth.

The woman, Kellie Margaret McGuiness, 32, was charged with the same offences but she was immediately released on parole after showing the judge proof of her successful rehabilitation.

The court heard police searched a Brisbane unit in July 2014 and found chemicals including amphetamine, pseudoephedrine, iodine, phosphorus and hydrochloric acid.

Police also found equipment with traces of meth on it.

The court heard about 3g of meth could have been produced using the chemicals.

When handing down his sentence, Judge Brian Devereaux said Trathen's offending was more aggravating because he was on parole at the time.

Two months before he was caught in Brisbane, he was sentenced to nine months jail and was on parole at the time for other drug charges.

"Two and a bit months later you were cooking amphetamines again," Judge Devereaux said.

"A sentence has to be dramatically more lengthy than the one (the previous judge) imposed," he said.

"But, at the risk of sounding foolish, I think there is real prospect for your rehabilitation this time."

The court heard Trathen was willing to go into rehabilitation as soon as he was released from jail.

The court also heard Trathen's criminal history had about a decade empty, where he did not commit any offences. Judge Devereaux said this showed Trathen knew what it was like to lead a constructive life.

Trathen is eligible to be released on parole on December 21.

McGuiness was sentenced to 16 months jail and released immediately on parole. -